Violent or abusive patients “will feel the full weight of the law” Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has warned, as she launched a fresh crackdown on the problem.

As A&E departments prepare to see a rise in the number of alcohol-related incidents during the festive season, the Welsh Government has started a campaign to remind people that assaults on staff will not be accepted.

Around 8% of violent or abusive incidents occur in A&E departments.

Every year there are between 6,500 and 8,500 incidents, although nearly 70% of these are caused by patients’ conditions and are not classed as criminal offences.

A crackdown on offenders and a joint effort between the police, the NHS and the Crown Prosecution Service has seen prosecutions soar in the past three years.

In 2008-2009 there were just eight prosecutions for violent or abusive offences, but in the last 30 months there have been 387 successful prosecutions.

These included a 30-month sentence for a patient who threatened a nurse in an outpatients department with a knife, a 12-week sentence for a patient who was verbally and racially abusive to staff in a GP practice, and a 16-week sentence for a patient brought into A&E who abused a nurse and kneed them in the lower abdomen.

Alongside prison sentences, there have been 564 other sanctions such as fixed penalties and Asbos.

Ms Griffiths said: “NHS staff should be able to go to work without fear of violence, abuse or harassment from patients or their relatives.

“Violence not only puts healthcare workers at risk, but prevents them from doing their job, caring for others.

“We have made significant progress in raising awareness of the problem, encouraging staff to report incidents of violence and aggression so prosecutions can be pursued.

“Violence against NHS staff will simply not be tolerated. We have seen a huge rise in successful prosecutions, which I hope sends a clear message that we have a zero tolerance approach in operation.

“I want those who think they can get away with attacks on NHS staff to know they will feel the full weight of the law.”

This latest campaign will see posters on display in hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacies, dentists and opticians across Wales.

Other measures, such as letters to patients who have been abusive or violent, are also proving successful with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB) recently winning a South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner award for the project.

Under the scheme, anyone who is abusive or violent to staff while at the University Hospital of Wales is issued with a letter which is hand delivered to their home within seven days of the incident and triggers the first of four stages to a full Asbo.

Around 300 hundred letters have been issued since the scheme started in January 2011 with the number of re-offenders standing at less than 20.

Simon Williams, patient environment manager, said: “There is no doubt that UHB staff are benefiting directly from this scheme. Staff colleagues and members of the public should be confident that they are entering a safe and secure healthcare environment.

“This initiative has reassured this belief. The results and action taken so far build on the excellent work already undertaken by our violence and aggression case manager who supports staff who have been subject to abuse from patients and visitors to the Emergency Unit.”

New figures have also shown that Cwm Taf Health Board has successfully prosecuted 11 people for abusing or attacking NHS staff in the last 20 months.

Anthony Seculer, Cwm Taf’s independent board member and violence and aggression champion, said: “We take the issue of violence within our workplaces against patients, visitors and staff very seriously.

“The health board has developed a range of risk reduction strategies in the management of violence and aggression, we have invested in providing training to enable staff to respond appropriately to such situations and we have appointed a personal safety advisor and case manager to put into place preventative measures and to support managers and staff following an incident.”

Meanwhile, a new Memorandum of Understanding between the NHS, the Police Service and the Crown Prosecution Service to tackle the issue of violence and aggression against NHS staff is in the final stages of its development. This will replace two existing Memorandums of Understanding.

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Case study

Chris James, a 36-year-old security officer at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, has been the victim of abuse several times in his work.

He said: “Christmas time has been a bit quiet up to now, but we had a lot of trouble in the summer when people were drinking all day.

“We used to just have trouble at weekends, but now it’s all through the week. We are getting it all the time now.

“I have been working here seven years and have seen it getting worse. I have been pushed over, I have been punched in the face and even spat on by a patient with hepatitis, which meant I had to go through numerous medical tests. I have seen a couple of people locked up after assaulting me.

“We get it from all departments – staff will call us from A&E, maternity wards, in residence, everywhere.

“But since the scheme, people who have received the letters now behave themselves a lot more when they come in.

“We have also got a good rapport with the police and we are always passing on information to each other.”